147-Year-Old Lafayette Square Stunner Delights to the Last Detail

Back when Larry and Andrea Heugatter bought their gorgeous home on Lafayette Park, in 2001, they knew they were taking on a challenge. The house was already well over a century old, having been built all the way back in 1877 (by the sea captain who mentored the young Samuel Clemens, no less). That meant it had survived the Great Cyclone of 1896, even losing its third floor to the tornado, before decades of disinvestment left the once-grand St. Louis neighborhood filled with dilapidated boarding houses.

But the house at 1532 Mississippi Avenue had survived all that (one of its owners even added a third floor back on). And as Lafayette Square's pioneers painstakingly restored the neighborhood to its former glory, the Heugatters bought the 4,752-square-foot mansion and rose to the challenge of caring for it. They installed new hardwood floors, rejiggered rooms and converted a spiral staircase to a traditional one. They added a deluxe two-car garage with a rooftop deck, installed solar panels and paid for a high-efficiency HVAC system. They spent nearly $100,000 redoing the kitchen alone.

The result is one of the most beautiful homes in one of St. Louis' most beautiful neighborhoods — a stunning 147-year-old that looks its era but never its age. "They turned up the volume on what makes this house so rare, so special, and such a landmark in the city," says their listing agent, Jenn Schoemehl. That involved not just preserving the home's historic features but also decades of scouring estate sales for the perfect pieces to complement it. "They enjoyed the search."

The Heugatters are beloved neighborhood fixtures — Andrea for her years running the charming gift shop Looking Glass Designs, Larry for his 1962 vintage cherry red VW truck. Now that the Heugatters are moving to Spain, they're ready to sell the house to its next caretaker, and this painted lady can only hope to land one as good as the last.

Warns Schoemehl, "You have to commit to a house like this. You need to be a steward." But when you're truly all in, the rewards are real — and the Heugatters might be proof of that. While their move to Tarragona, Spain, involves downsizing, they're not done with old houses: Their new place, Schoemehl says, is 700 years old.

1532 Mississippi Avenue is listed for $960,000. Contact Schoemehl of Dwell and Sell and Circa STL, visit the open house at 1 to 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 21, or scroll down for the highlights.